The House Of Bernarda Alba

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Drama

Explain the significance of the opening scene and as a director explain what impact you would like the scene to have on the audience and how you would achieve this.

        The play ‘The House of Bernarda Alba’ is written by Frederico Garcia Lorca. In the opening scene the playwright uses many different techniques to create a dramatic effect for the audience. I have been asked to explain the impact I would like to create as a director and how I would achieve this.

        As a director I would want to create an important image straight from the beginning of the play, which I feel Frederico Garcia Lorca achieved extremely well. He created a simple picture however a very memorable one. Almost like a clinic and too clean is the impression the audience first get as the curtains pull up with the “very white room”. This lets the audience know how obsessed Bernarda is with appearance and control. It also tells us how Bernarda feels the need to impress her neighbours constantly as she always wants to be the best and to control her daughters. The “thick walls” of the room the audience see gives the impression that the room is almost like a prison and caved in. Again, adding to the idea of Bernarda controlling and keeping her daughters inside away from any men. Another part of Bernarda, which I feel is important to emphasise to the audience, is her constant need to be above everyone else and how highly she thinks of herself. The audience may almost feel intimidated by the “arched doorways” as it shows how high class Bernarda is. At this point the audience would be under a great deal of tension and pressure due to the overall silence. This period of the play where no acting takes place gives the audience time to think about the image the playwright has created and almost feel the hot temperature of Spain. As a director, this is the exact effect I would want the audience to experience. The “black” on the jute curtains also adds to the overall negativity the audience already feel. So again, building and building the tension.

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        The Maid enters. She is going mad with the sound of those “tolling bells” which gives the impression that this part of Spain is sacred and religious. The sound also adds to the tension as it is a loud, bold sound and the audience feel as if the must not make a single sound or movement. Poncia then enters eating bread and a sausage. I think she would enter with movement different than how she would walk if Bernarda was there. She entered freely and without a care because there was nobody to give her into trouble for slouching ...

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